News of the week

Mining Farms and Companies Goes Bankrupt Because of Bitcoin Crash

Chinese and American Bitcoin mining operations are facing closures after the plummeting price of bitcoin means they may no longer be profitable. The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is currently trading at around $4,300, having lost almost a third of its value in a week. The biggest casualty so far may be the US-based mining firm Giga Watt, which was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week after it was unable to pay debts of around $7 million. Hon Kong-based mining platform Suanlitou announced this week that it was unable to cover electricity fees for a 10-day period in November, according to the South China Morning Post. Another group of Chinese cryptocurrency miners also reportedly shut down 20,000 mining rigs due to the fall in profitability.

Starting in 2019, thousands of points of sales will be selling Bitcoin throughout France. The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority, he institution charged with monitoring the transactions, authorized the Federation of tobacco. At first, 3,000 shops will be equipped with software to process direct purchases of “coupons” of bitcoins of the following values: 50, 100, or 250 euros. Subsequently, the other tobacconists will also be equipped to exchange the cryptocurrency. After the announcement, however, the Bank of France itself issued a statement denying any such plans had its blessing.

New research by cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX revealed that twelve Initial Coin Offering (ICO) projects that raised over $50 million in their token sales have yet to launch. CEO Arthur Hayes identified well-known projects such as Telegram, Filecoin and Overstock’s tZero among that twelve ICOs. Many projects have hemorrhaged money, with previous research by Diar noting around 70 percent are now worth less than what they raised during their ICO funding.

Bitex has officially launched as the United Arab Emirates’ newest digital asset exchange. The Dubai-based trading platform will initially support Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. Bitex also announced the launch of a cryptocurrency wallet that offers an additional cash deposit service. The cash deposit service allows users to schedule a cash pickup, with funds immediately deposited in their accounts and available for trading within 24 hours.

Nigeria’s main opposition leader and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has said the country will adopt blockchain technology and cryptocurrency if he is elected president. In his policy document, Abubakar revealed plans to create a legal policy that, among other things, will see blockchain and cryptocurrencies taught from primary school through university.